Vending machine



Dec. 23, 1941. I .IsTElNl-:R 2,267,144

\ vENDINc- MAcHNE l Original .Fil`ed June 28, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet l IIIIHIH 'IIIIIIIIl|l||||||||llllllllllllll IIIIIHIIIIIIIIHHH INI IIHIIIIIIIIIL "IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIllllllllllllll llNvENToR 4-I ou/5 STE/N52 (.7 ATTORNEY Dec. v23, 1,941. L. sTElNl-:R 2,267,144

VNDING MACHINE OIIiginal Filed June 28, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet INVENTOR ou/S S75/NER ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 23, 1941 VENDING MACHINE Louis Steiner, New York, N. Y., assignor to U- Need-A-Pak Products Corporation, Brooklyn,

N. Y., a corporation Original application June 28, 1938, Serial No.

216,270. Divided and this application December 28, 1939, Serial No. 311,298

(Cl. S12- 42) 3 Claims.

This invention relates to vending machines. It is particularly directed to vending machines having a plurality of chutes to stock diiferent brands of cigarettes or other merchandise. This application is a continuation in part of applicants co-pending application Serial No. 112,011, filed November 21, 1936, for Vending machines, and a division of copending application Serial No. 216,27() filed June 28, 1938, by applicant, and patented May 13, 1941, as Patent No. 2,241,489.

It is well known that some brands of cigarettes sell more slowly than others. Vending machines for brands of cigarettes coming in packages of substantially the same dimension, have heretofore been provided with chutes of the same height, and of the same cross-sectional area, and in which the cigarettes of the various brands are stacked in the same way, usually lying flat on the front or rear faces. If the chutes containing the slow selling brands are filled, the cigarettes therein often become stale, and if these chutes are not lled, a waste of space results. If the chutes are disposed side by side, the machine is too wide, and if the chutes are placed one in back of the other, the machine is too deep, since the machines usually also carry chutes for dispensing matches in back of the cigarette chutes. It is therefore an object of my invention to overcome the above mentioned diculty in cigarette vending machines, by providing the machine with wide and narrow chutes arranged in a row, the wider chutes for the faster selling brands receiving packages stacked therein, lying on their front and rear wide faces; and the narrow chutes for the slower selling brands receiving the packages stacked therein on their narrow side edges. With this construction more packages may be stacked in the Wide chutes than in. the narrow chutes. By arranging the wide and narrow chutes in a row, side by side, the entire machine may be reduced in width, while serving the same brands as in the Wider machines, wherein all of the chutes are of the same horizontal cross-sectional area, and in which the cigarettes are all stacked in the same way.

A further object of this invention is to provide in a machine oi the character described, having pull bars controlled by insertion of a coin or coins into the machine, for pushing cigarettes from the chute to a discharge chamber, and locking means, disposed between the bars, to prevent more than one bar from being pulled at one time, wide and narrow chutes for the fast and slow selling brands of cigarettes, respectivethe pull bars may be centered with respect to the chutes, and yet be spaced equally apart one from the other, to accommodate said locking means, and to facilitate manipulation of the draw bars.

Another object of this invention is to provide in a vending machine of the character described, highly improved locking means to prevent more than one draw bar from being pulled at a time to dispense a package of cigarettes.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide Va neat, compact and rugged vending machine of the character described, which shall be relatively inexpensive to manufacture, easy to operate, positive in action, and yet practical and efficient to a high degree in use.

Other objects of this invention will in part be obvious and in part hereinafter pointed out.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangement of parts which will be exemplied in the construction hereinafter described, and of which the scope of application will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which is shown one of the various possible illustrative embodiments of this invention,

Fig. 1 is a front, elevational view of a vending machine embodying the invention, with part of the front wall broken away to show the interior construction;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged, cross-sectional view taken on line 2 2V of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3y is a side, elevational View of the improved vending machine, with part of the side wall broken away to disclose the coin controlled mechanism;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional View taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

4Q Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional View taken on line ly, arranged alternately in a single row, whereby 5-5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5, but showing one of the pull bars-pulled forward;

Fig. '7 is an enlarged, cross-sectional taken on line 1--1 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 8 isa partial, top plan view of the pull bars and locking mechanism, with one of the pull bars drawn forwardly; and

Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 9 9 of Fig. 8.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, l0 designates a vending machine embodying the invention, for vending various brands of cigarettes or other packages or articles. The same comprises an outer casing lilla, having a rear wall Il,

view

clined wall 3 I which may be stocked in the machine, while casing, side walls 2I, parallel to the side walls I2 of the casing, and a ront wall 22 disposed.

adjacent the front wall I5 of the casing. Saidv front wall 22 is formed with an opening 23, substantially registering with the opening I6 in front wall I5.

Disposed within the bottom oi the box la is Q a curved member 25, extending from the front edge of bottom wall I3, to the upper portion of rear wall 23, forming a dispensing chamber I8a,

`for vthe purpose hereinafter appearing.

The front wall 22 has a top flange 21 extending toward the rear wall 28. Fixed to the ilangeAZI and the side walls 2l of the box I8, as by spot welding or in any other suitable manner, is a member 28 having a horizontal wall 29 contacting said flange and extending rearwardlyv toward the rear wall 28. Extending downwardly from `the horizontal wall 23, is a vertical wall 3i), from which there extends a forwardly and downwardly in- Extending upwardly from the wall 29 is a vertical wall 32, substantially aligned with the front wall- 22 of box VI8. Wall 29 is formed with a plurality of parallel, equally spaced slots 34 extending from front to rear, for the purpose hereinafter appearing. The wall 32 is formed with a plurality of openings 33, aligned with the slots 34 in wall V29, and registering with the slots I5a in the front wall I5.

Mounted on the wall 29 is arow of vertical,

lalternatingly wide and narrow chutes 3 1 and 38,

respectively, for cigarette packages 39 or the like prismatic packages or articles of similar size and of greater width than thickness.

,As shown in the drawings, the chutes are of two kinds, to wit: wide chutes 31 and narrow chutes 38. Thechutes are arranged side byside in a row, and the narrow chutes alternate with 1e wide chutes, for the purpose hereinafter appearing. The chutes are of the same depth from iront to rear, being of a depth somewhat greater than the height of the packages. Eachchute has a rear wall and side walls and inwardly extending flanges at the front. The side walls of adjacent chutes may be in contact. The wide chutes have a width somewhat greater than the width of the packages, and the narrow chutes have a width somewhat greater than the thickness of the packages. 'f l. y

It will be noted that in the chutes 357, Ythe Apackages are stacked flat on their wider front or rear faces, with said iront and rear faces in horizontal position. In the chutes 3S, thepackages are stacked on theirside edges, with the narrow sides of the packages in horizontal position.

It is well known that some brands of cigarettes sell more slowly than others. Ina vending machine in which slow selling brandsare vended as well as fast selling brands, if the chutes were Aall of the same width and stacked full, all the chutes would have the same number of packages, and the chutes containing the slow selling brands .would not empty as quickly 'as the chutes conf 'lling all of the chutes.

taining the fast selling brands, causing the slow selling brands of cigarettes to become stale. If the chutes with the slow selling brands were not lled, a waste of space would result. This diiculty is overcome by providing chutes of wide and narrow widths so that the narrow chutes contain a lesser number of packages than the chutes of greater width.

With such construction, there is a greater choice in the number of cigarettes of each brand Each chute can contain only. one brand of cigarettes. If each wide chiite 3l' can contain twenty packages of cigarettes, and each 'narrow chute 38 can contain twelve packages of cigarettes, each brand may be stocked in multiples of twenty or multiples of twelve, upto the number of said chutes in themachine. Each brand may also be stocked in a number equal to any multiple of twenty (up Vto the number of chutes 31 in the machine),

plus any multiple of 12 (up to the number of chutes 38 in the machine). Thus, if one chute 31 is filled with a brand, there are twenty packages of said brand in the machine; if two such chutes are lled with one brand, forty packages, and so on. If one chute 38 is stocked with a certain brand, there are twelve packages, two chutes 33, twenty-four packages, and so forth. Furthermore, one brand may be stocked in one chute 3l and one chute 38, making a total of thirty-two packages, or two chutes 31 plus one chute 33, making fifty-two packages, or one chute 3l' and two chutes 38, making forty-four packages, and so forth.

A wide range in the number of packages of kany brand may thus be stocked in the machine 'the rear walls of the chutes 3'! are'cut-away at the bottom, as at 48, at least to a height equal to. the thickness of one of the packages 39. The

rear walls of the chutes 38 are cut away at the bottom, as at 4I, to a height at least equal ,to the width of one of the packages 39.

Slidably mounted on thewall 29 of member 28, are a plurality of parallel, horizontal drawbars 42, there being one vbar for each chute, and saidV bars being equally spaced apart and centrally located Ywith respect to each chute.

Each bar .'42 has a straight horizontal portion r43 extending through one; of the slots 33 and theslot [5a registering therewith. The lower -edgeo-f portion 43 is disposed within one of the slots 34. Said portion'43 has a nger engaging portion 44 at its front end. VEach draw-bar 4 2 is provided adjacent its rear end with'a thickened rear wall 46 and top wall 47. The lower edge of wall 46 contacts ythe top surface oi wall 2.9 on opposite sides of the slot 34. Extendingdownwardly from fthe rear end of the bar -4;2 is a hook portion 48. Said portion 48 is thickerthan portion 43 and contacts the underside of wall 29 on opposite sides of the slot 34.

As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, Vthe lowermost package 3,9 normally rests Aon portion 41 ofjhe loar. In suchposition, the lowermost packageis 'above the cut-out 45 or 4|, and cannot fall or be pushed or pulled rearwardly out of the chute.

Mounted on the sides walls 2l of the box I8, and traversing the chamber |8a, is a horizontal shaft 50. Said side walls 2| are formed with similar, aligned arcuate slots 5| having centers of curvature at the axis of the shaft 58. Traversing the chamber I8 is a second shaft 52 having the ends thereof projecting within the slots 5|. Shafts 58 and 52 are interconnected by links 52a. Mounted on the end of shaft 58 are torsion springs 53, each having one arm engaging the front wall 22 of the box I8, and another arm engaging the shaft 52, to normally move said shaft rearwardly to the rear ends of the slots 5|.

The hook portions 48 of the draw-bars 42 are adapted to engage the shaft 52, so that upon pulling any of the draw-bars forwardly, the shaft 52 is moved forwardly and somewhat upwardly being guided by the slots 5|.

When a draw-bar is pulled to its'forwardmost position, the packages in the chute associated therewith will drop onto wall 29. When the draw-bar is released, the springs 53 will push shaft 52 rearwardly to pull back the draw-bar, and push the lowermost package of cigarettes rearwardly, out of the chute, onto the wall 25 where it is guided to the bottom of discharge chamber |8a.. The person purchasing the cigarettes may then insert his hand through the registering openings I8 and 23, into chamber |8a, to take out the package.

Means is provided to cover the cut-out openings 48 and 4| so that a person cannot obtain a package by inserting his hand through the chamber |811. To this end, there is fixed to the side walls 2| of the box |8, a horizontal shaft 55, disposed adjacent the rear walls of the chutes and above the cut-outs 4D, 4|. Pivoted to the shaft 56 is a plate 51 adapted to cover said cutouts.

Fixed to the ends of shaft 56 are links 52, interconnected by links 59 to the shaft 52. When no draw-bar is pulled out, and the shaft 52 is in its rearmost position, links 58 lift the plate 51 to uncover the cut-outs 40, 4|. Since no package is entirely below said cut-outs, when the draw-bars are in normal position, no package can be removed through the chamber |8a. When a draw-bar is pulled forwardly, however, to permit the packages in the chute to drop to wall 29, the shaft 52 is pulled forwardly to pull down on the links 59, which in turn, pulls down on the links 58 to lower the plate 51 into position covering the cut-outs 48, 4|. When the draw-bar is released, to push a package of cigarettes out of its chute, the plate 51 is again lifted to permit the package to be pushed rearwardly onto the curved Wall 25.

Means is provided to prevent more than one bar at a time from being pulled forwardly. To this end, there is disposed on opposite sides of each draw-bar, a at, horizontal, locking plate 82, pivoted at its rear end to therwall 29, by a vertical pivot 63. The forward ends of each plate 52 may be supported by a flange 64, stuck from wall 29, and disposed parallel to and below said wall 29.

Looking at Fig. 1, it will be seen that all of plates 62 are similar and that there is one locking plate between each pair of adjacent drawbars 42, and a locking plate on the outer side of each of the end draw-bars. When no drawbar is pulled forwardly, the locking plates have a slight pivotal movement about their pivot pins .63. However, when any draw-bar is pulled forwardly, the hook portion 48 thereof moves between the adjacent edges 51 of a pair of adjacent locking plates, moving all the other locking plates into contact, so as to prevent any other drawbar from being pulled forwardly until the first draw-bar is released.

By alternating the wide and narrow chutes 31 and 38, the draw-bars 42 may be centered with respect to the chutes, and yet be equally spaced one from the other. With such construction, furthermore, the locking plates 62 may be of similar dimension. Any suitable coin controlled means may be provided for controlling the draw-bars 42, such for example, as is illustrated in my Patent No. 2,083,928 issued on the 15th day of June, 1937. The coin controlled means may operate with any number of coins. n,

For the purpose of illustration, there is shown in the drawing, coin controlled means operated by a single coin. To this end, there is xed to one of the side walls 2|, a plate 18, disposed in a vertical plane and having bosses 1| in the corners thereof contacting said side wall. Said plate is fixed to the side wall 2| by screws 12 passing through said bosses. Plate 18 is formed on the outer face thereof with a longitudinal, horizontal through slot 1|a. Said plate 15 is furthermore formed with a horizontal slot 83, registering with said slot 1|a. The adjacent side wall 2| is formed with a slot 2|a registering with slot 13.

Slidably mounted in the slot 1|a is a slide plate 15. Fixed to the front face of plate 18 are a pair of vertical bars 10a, to hold the plate 15 within the slot 1|a. Fixed to the front end of the plate 15 is a stud shaft 18, projecting through slots 13 and 2|a. Pivotally connected, as at 18, to the link 52a, is a link 88, formed at one end with a sleeve 8l passing through slots 13, 21a and rotatably receiving the stud shaft 15.

It will now be understood that When any drawbar is pulled forwardly, the slide plate 15 will be pulled forwardly therewith, if a coin is inserted, as will be explained hereinafter.

Extending upwardly from the plate 18 is a coin chute 10b of any suitable construction), terminating at the front of the machine where a coin can be inserted. Plate 10 is formed with a vertical slot 10c at the lower end of the chute 18h and disposed above the slot 1|a. Said plate 18 is furthermore formed with a vertical slot 18d in the same plane as the slot 19e, but located forwardly of said slot.

The plate 15 is formed with a horizontal through slot 83. The forward end of the slot 83 is widened or extended downwardly, as at 84, forming a ledge or edge 85, for the purpose hereinafter appearing. Said plate 15 isV furthermore formed with aligned, vertical slots 81 and 88, communicating with the horizontal slot 83. In the rear position of the slide rplate 15, the slots 81 and 88 are aligned with the slot 19e, so that a coin inserted into the chute 18h will drop down through the slots 10c, 81, pass the slot 83, and fall into the slot 88. In such position, the top of the coin will be substantially tangent to the main portion of the slot 83, and covering the ledge or shoulder 85.

Pivoted at one end to one bar 18a is a lever 98. Said lever is connected at its opposite end by a spring 9| to the other bar 18a. Spring 9| tends to pull the lever 98 downwardly. The lever 98 has a projection 92 extending into the slot portion `84, at the level vof the -shoulder .85. Insuch position, no barcan be `pulled forwardly if a coin has not -been inserted Vinto the 4coin chute, because theslide 15 cannot be pulled fiorwardly due to 'engagement of the `:shoulder A85 -withthe projection 92 of lever eil.

However, when a coin is insertedfinto thecoin chute 10b, and drops to the slot 88,-the vforward 4-portion of the coin provides a ramp to vengage the projection 92, to -lift the -lever as la drawbar is pulled, and permit the vslide to be moved `forwardly. As the slide is pulled forwardly, the

Ycigarette vending-machine, it willbe understood that packages or articles other than packages of cigarettes, may be vended therewith.v

Between the row of chutes 31, 38 and the rear wall of the casing are chutes |00 containing matches, and provided with any suitable means (not shown), such as shown in my Patent No. 2,076,750, issued April 13, '1937, to `dispense the same.

It will thus be seen that there is provided a device in which the several objects of this invention areachieved, and which is Well adapted Vto .meet the conditions of practical use. Y

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention, and as various changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that al1 imatter 4herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustratveand not ina limiting sense.

Having 'thus described my invention, -I Yclaim 'asfnewandde'sire `to secure-by Letters Patent:

1. In a vending machine, a casing, a unit `therein comprising a row of aligned, parallel 4upstanding, closely adjacent, alternatingly wide and"narrowfchutes of thesame height, said chutes havingside'and rear Walls` and being of the lsame .depth 'from 'front -to rear` the'horizontal ,distances between centers of Vadjacent chutes 'being equal,` all zof -the wide'chutes being of equal width, and all tof the vnarrow chutes being of equal width, and means Within -said casing to support -said unit.

2. Inra vending machine, a unit comprising-1a row` of aligned, parallel upstanding, alternatingly wide and narrow chutes of the same height, said chutes having'side and rear Walls and being of the same depth from front ato rear, all of :the Wide chutes being of equal Width, and allof the narrow -chutes being of equal width, and each chute Vbeing contiguous to adjacent chutes. Y

3. In -a vending machine, a row of aligned, parallel upstanding, `alternatingly wide and nar.- row-chutes of the same height, said chutes having side andrear walls and being of the same rdepth from 'front to rear, all of the wide chutes being of-equa1 Width, vand all of the-narrow chutes being of equal width, and each -chute being contiguous to Vadjacent chutes the side land rear walls of each chute being fixed vrelative to each other.

LOUIS S'I'EINER, 

